Bonding To Hope
by Elston87
Summary: Cassandra is out once more to sway a resolve for her family, uncoincidentially teaming up with an ally to help aid her in the "fight" to the path of destiny.  Cassandra\OC
1. Chapter 1: In The Beginning

Soul Calibur belongs to Namco, but I wish it could be mine. Oh well, I can keep dreaming...

**A\N: **Long time and no story, eh? Well, my reluctance to update was due to a lot about school and others, but this story must come first. As for the other two stories, they shall be updated sometime in the future. For the time being, I really hope you enjoy this brilliant idea I had... :)

-End

"**Bonding to Hope"  
Chapter One**

**In The Beginning**

In the autumn of an allocated location far from the distant island of the lands of Greece, the orange leaves fell from distant heights from the gazing trees looking towards the sunrise. Not far away from a distant village sat a man, who had just awaken from a good night sleep. He was seated near a graved bench made of solid stone, staring out into the waters of Athens, next to his home. The man had a gaze of happiness that could be seen from afar, even delighting the senses of many to behold such a facial gesture. He struck another grin, looking afar once more at the sunrise, shining over the island home with the beautiful orange and yellow rays striking the surfaces surrounding the man, giving them light and beauty.

The man was a nobleman who had just retired from a civil was dispute that had just occurred not to far from the current date. The dispute was later resolved, and in his honor, he was awarded a medal made from solid obsidian, which demonstrates the toughness of the individual who fought in the war and resolved the moral conflict. He, delighted at the sight, decided to take intensive care of the medal, in which he would later bond and shape the material into his newest hand-combat weapon.

Staring at the beauty of sunlight, he rose, shading his vision to scope out the crystal waters. He gestures his hands on his hips, stretches his backbone, and rests once more, standing proud on the solid marble flooring. This man went by the name of "Kristofr", who went on to stand as the proudest member of his loving family. He continues his tradition today throughout the small settlements established in Greece, spreading hope and joy to those around him. His crimson bandana waved in the gentle winds, presenting such a strong figure of supremacy. His claret gloves were glistened by the sunlight reflecting the shiny silver outlining that lavished the gloves, radiating the excellence of quality. Equipped with padded, tight-fit, crimson boots, green fabric pants secured with a glistening new utility belt, the shirtless man stood for a while, looking out at the sunlight and admiring its beauty as a symbol of good things to come forward in the future. He was only the age of 24, in which was the youngest of his family, but he was a legend for his age, considering the pressures of the previous civil war. Crossing his arms and walking to the top deck of his home, Kristofr stood once more, shining his figure proud against the morning Sun...

Little did he realize that he was not alone, another figure was present on the yard. Peeking from a nearby tree, which still had plenty of leaves to spare, stood a girl, watching Kristofr from a vast distance. At the age of 21, Cassandra Alexandra had a purpose for traversing to this location. She seeks a resolve from her family in which had recently occurred once the civil war conflict had just ended. Fixing a look at the man from afar, she carefully watches his head movements, judging his field of vision. Stealing every possible opportunity, she advances closer and closer towards him, determined to reach her proposed target. She finally reached as close as she could, pressing against a marble wall, shielding her body from his view. Cassandra peeked her head past the wall ever so slightly, barely revealing her tidy hair and bow-tie. As she peeked over, Kristofr glanced at the adjacent wall, which a clock was hanging from a fixed awning. He quickly gasped, stepped back a bit, then spoke to himself:

"Dammit. I am late!" he muttered, taking-off on foot into the building. Cassandra quickly ducked her head back, pressing her body against the marble wall once more. She thought to herself:

"_Late for what, eh?_" she wondered, gripping her cheek with the palm of her left hand. She hung tight to the wall, attempting to suppress any sound that might have been audible at such an enclosed distance. Inside the house, Kristofr was caught in a frantic searching for an item he was supposed to acquire. He later found a pamphlet, the item of supposition, and rushed out of the nearest door, though he did not jog, nor even run...

He started to walk at a brisk pace along the brick sidewalk, which winded into paved roads that eventually led the the inter midlands of the city. Cassandra had noticed her target increasing the gap between them, eventually frustrating her. She clenched her fist like a rock and briefly jostled the wall, aggravated. She then continued to close the gap on her and Kristofr, quickly hiding, ducking, and moving forward to avoid detection. He had no suspicion of a follower, so he continued to walk along, though he accelerated his walking speed. Cassandra was fed up with her target, which the situation had seemed to take a toll against her. As the Sun shined its radiance over Greece, the two figures, with shadows moving quickly, continued to venture further into the city...

**End A\N:** I must say that I was quite inspired by the musical score of Soul Calibur III, as some of the pieces match oh so perfectly. Also, I would not say that this is not really a SI based story, as I say it is an OC, even though it is strictly not implied. I will enjoy writing the rest of this tale, and I'm sure you can enjoy waiting for the next. :) PLEASE REVIEW as it is essential to me! Until next time...


	2. Chapter 2:  Confrontation

Soul Calibur belongs to Namco, but I wish it could be mine. Oh well, I can keep dreaming...

**A\N: **Yay, it's Chapter 2. A delay because of my Internets, but all is restored. Enjoy...

-End

"**Bonding to Hope"  
Chapter Two**

**Confrontation**

As he started to move faster, Kristofr became less aware of what was around him, pacing his gate as he continued traversing the winding roads which led to the midlands. Without a clue, he had no idea that he had a follower closing in on his location. That follower was Cassandra, who seemed to never get any closer to her target. She tried desperately to make haste and catch up, but she always ran out of options for speed over stealth, as she always found herself quickly ducking for cover near a tree or another structure. Her time was short, and with little distance left from the midland city, she had to make a decisive act...

Passing an oval-carved water fountain, Kristofr stopped dead in his tracks, taking a quick glance around his surroundings. This act made Cassandra halt with panic, attempting to steady her foot in the open air from touching the ground, in hopes of not making another loud step that she thinks it may have caused him to stop. She then gently lowered her foot, and while walking on the tips of her toes, she maneuvered slowly behind the fountain, ducking her head out of sight as she glanced from the edge of the oval structure to observe what her target was proposing to do next...

Kristofr, scratching his shaved head, looks around once more, gazing at the trees one-by-one, then staring blindly into the egg-shaped fountain, focusing his stare at the structure. He gave his head one more scratch, then he faced himself in the opposite direction. He started to walk again, but this time with great haste. Cassandra watched him move even further away from her, disappointing herself once more. She couldn't help but feel very agitated towards him, clenching her fists once more with a tight and firm grip.

"_Dammit! Not again!_" she thought to herself, groaning at the burden she had yet to take care of. She then quickly covered her mouth, hushed herself, and continued to advance, pursuing Kristofr once more. She decided that playing this "game" in the stealthy fashion was not going to progress her any further, so with determination in mind, Cassandra quietly drew her weapon, the blessed Digamma Sword and Nemea Shield, and moved in for the encounter...

Once she was in close-quarters range, she raised her sword in front of Kristofr, stopping him with a sudden halt. His neck wrapped skin-tight around the blade, with the chin impinging the horizontal edge of the sword. He gasped faintly, surprised by the weapon suddenly appearing before him. Cassandra then brought the shield around from her right side to the front of Kristofr, obstructing his body from any additional movement. Milliseconds passed, then she spoke:

"Where is she?" she rudely asked, raising her voice against him. It would have seemed that silence had broken where the two had stopped, with no birds chirping, no wind flowing, not even the leaves were floating around.

"Uh, excuse me?" Kristofr quickly but hesitantly replied.

"I said, where is she?" Cassandra had answered back at him, raising her voice to an even louder volume.

"Uh, I have not the slightest idea who "she" is, miss," he said back, struggling to speak normally.

"This is no time for silly games such as that!" she raged, projecting her noisy voice straight into his ears like a loudspeaker.

"Well uh, miss, you are not stating who this person is. If I were to know who-"

"Stop that already!" she interrupted with a loud yell. She was growing more furious as the seconds passed, with Kristofr becoming more nervous.

"Hey! I-I, I-I have no idea who you are talking about!" he replied back in a higher tone of voice, attempting to gain control over the situation he was in. He then tried to remove the weapon from his neck, which was clenching furiously, but it only became tighter as he reacted.

"Liar!" she shouted aloud.

"**Hey, stop you damn psychopath!**" Kristofr vociferated at her, repelling the blade and shield away from his person. He was breathing heavily, and for good reason. After catching his breath, he faced himself in the opposite direction again to see who he had the dangerous encounter with...

Standing before him was a young and pretty girl, with beautiful hair that was kept in order by a bow-tie, strikingly good posture and figure, and with weapons at the sides. She had fixed her gaze at his eyes, staring him down as if he was the culprit. Still breathing audibly, he crossed his arms and studied the girl. Cassandra let down her weapons and studied her target as well. The two figures at the fountain stared at each other for what had seemed to be an hour, when in reality, it was only seven minutes, exchanging a few facial expressions at that time passed along. Kristofr decided to speak up, uncrossing his arms and positioning his hands at the hips.

"Well then, since that ordeal has been settled, how may I help you, miss?" he spoke, attempting to render his voice in a soothing tone to calm the girl who had just threatened his life with a sharp blade. He walked closer to her, moving ever so slowly, but not getting too close.

"Ulgh, I am in search of someone, and uh, uhuh, I-I thought you were behind her disappearance," she replied, sounding dismayed. Kristofr was already aware of this, ironically.

"May you please state her name?" he asked.

"Sophitia... My sister..."

"Sophitia, is it?" he replied, with the sound of surprise in his remark. Cassandra's head drooped towards the brick walkway.

"Yes... My sister," she answered back, with disappointment contained within her voice. She could not help but feel depressed at the thought of her dear sister's disappearance.

"I see. I find this rather interesting," Kristofr replied.

"Why?" Cassandra curiously asked, raising her head towards Kristofr.

"Well, it would appear that this pamphlet here is addressed to the Alexandra family. I too, am at a loss of her disappearance," he replied back. These words caught the attention of Cassandra, who was now discerned at the man who stood before him...

"May we talk?" she politely asked, putting her weapons away from sight. After those words, the two figures took a seat on the ridge of the fountain, with peace being restored to the area. Not a single break in silence was heard afterward...

**End A\N:** A nice long chapter for you all. I think it was excellent, as I enjoyed writing this. I shall hope to continue this tale for all, and for myself of course. Until then... ;)


	3. Chapter 3: Conflicts and Resolutions

Soul Calibur belongs to Namco, but I wish it could be mine. Oh well, I can keep dreaming...

**A\N: **Chapter Three is here, and what a wait. I decided I will update whenever I can from now on. Until then...

-End

"**Bonding to Hope"  
Chapter Three**

**Conflicts and Resolutions**

The sky had started to settle down into a deep auburn shade, casting its warmth around the surrounding area. The sun was setting as the time passed, giving the hint that the after-hour period had already begun. From the distant village ahead, many buildings could be seen with their window panes dimming, lights activating at the same time. Many of the chirping birds had started to retreat far away to the direction of the beaming sun in the air. Many creatures came out of their shelters in this time period, as for such the night owls took the position of the birds, though it just had begun...

Kristofr and Cassandra were gazing at the distant sunset, having a seat on the outer rim of an egg-shaped fountain. Cassandra's head drooped down slightly, as she was a little nervous to begin the conversation with him. Kristofr, on the other hand, was eying the girl from the very turn of his own eyes, studying her as she sat still in idle thought. He eased his back and crossed his arms to relax from all of the sudden events that had previously occurred. Cassandra stood her head up straight and decided to muster out her first words...

"So, what brings you into this matter?" she asked, heart beating away rapidly...

"I found her to be an important person to me, if you can understand my meaning," Kristofr replied.

"I don't think I do understand. May you elaborate a little more?"

"If you insist," he replied to her question. "You see, there is something about your beloved sister that has always driven a hidden desire inside of me to full force on certain occasions. And, for her well being, I do take it that she is already married, according to the sight of her two children playing around in the courtyard a couple of days ago..." 

"What are you trying to say here?" She began to grow curious of what his intentions were with her sister, Sophitia...

"I'm saying that I have a love interest with her, but to my loss, she already belongs to the care of another man. I've tied my ways quite a bit to make my appeal to her, but nothing seems to come to avail, and this love burns deep into my heart. Now with news of her recent disappearance, I have nothing else to think about but saving her from whatever might have happened..." The words that Kristofr had spoke with possessed a deep meaning from the bowels within him. He was dead-set serious on the disappearance of Sophitia. Cassandra's interest was no longer in a need to be satisfied.

"You really do feel for her, huh..." she spoke with a dismal tone.

"My soul is not going to stop until I do find her, understand me?" he had replied with a sense of heroism. He rested his hands on Cassandra's uplifted shoulders. She returned the favor by doing the same. The two figures felt connected in a way.

"But, why do you want to get involved in such affairs?" she questioned him.

"I beg to differ," replied Kristofr.

"Well, if you are asking for help, then I can't come with you. This is my battle and mine alone. I will save my sister, no matter what."

"Then again, oh pretty one, I do not wish to have your life in the dangers of peril. I think we should team up together if both of our hearts and souls are fighting for the same cause, but I shall not have you venture out alone. You don't deserve a terrible fate."

"But **why** do you insist?"

"Because I have to! I care too much about her, and for the sake, you too..." The discussion had soon churned slowly into a high-level argument. Cassandra turned away from him, his hands letting off of her shoulders. She took a brief sigh and wondered, for she was plagued with nothing but thoughts.

"So, I guess it has came down to this..." 

"Came down to what?" Kristofr asked.

"If you do insist on finding Sophitia, then I guess we'll have to team up. It's for the best, as we have already wasted enough time already."

"I could certainly agree with you-

"No time for short talk. We must depart now." The mood of the current scenario had turned for the worse in Cassandra's point-of-view.

"How are you going to fight if we get into any encounters then? You're not going bare-handed, are you?"

"Of course, if you were smart, you would know not to ask such a question to a professional sword master such as myself, but I won't be bringing a blade with me for this trip." Our from his lower belt, he drew an extendable staff.

"Uh, I think a sword can cut a stick any day, don't you think?" Cassandra spoke in a cheery but smart tone, as she had a sudden change apparently for a short while.

"It's a staff as you would know, and you'd be surprised what this could do."

"Fine, I guess. Oh you're bringing a bag too?"

"That would be something else in case things get too rough."

"Fine then. We should get moving."

As Cassandra and Kristofr set foot down the narrow winding brick road to find Sophitia, only bonding to hope could grant them the strength to do so. Their first stop was the residence of the Alexandra family...

**End A\N:** And there's more to come, obviously you know that. I did have to think a lot for the dialogue as I hoped not to sound very repetitive. Please review, as I have not written in a while! (as of the story's post date) :)


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